


No Time For Regrets

by DaLiza



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feels, post 5x22
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 13:44:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14833373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaLiza/pseuds/DaLiza
Summary: Post 5x22. When Coulson feels responsible for all the traumas FitzSimmons have endured over the years, May helps him see things differently.





	No Time For Regrets

Coulson is sitting beside her on the pristine beach, but May can tell his mind is miles away. “What are you thinking about?” She asks.

“Our team finding Fitz in space.” He looks up at the seemingly endless stretch of bright blue sky, an especially welcome sight after his own time in space. “And all the crazy situations Fitz and Simmons have gone through over the years. I remember the first time I met them, in Professor Weaver’s classroom at the Academy. They were sitting at these little desks, staring up at me, and I thought that they looked younger than I was expecting. A voice in the back of my head said they were too young, but all their professors swore they were the best and brightest they’d ever seen, so I recruited them anyway. What if I had listened to that voice? If I hadn’t asked them to join our team, they might have had a quiet, simple life somewhere, with a house and a dog and a couple genius kids.”

May shakes her head. “You’re wrong.”

Surprised, Coulson turns to her. “How can you be so sure?”

“Think about how green they were five years ago. They weren’t even supposed to be in the field! If you hadn’t recruited them, they would have gotten jobs in a S.H.I.E.L.D. lab. When Hydra came out of the shadows, they would have been captured, tortured, and brainwashed. Just imagine the dangerous tech Hydra-controlled FitzSimmons could have created.”

“Sharks with laser beams attached to their heads?” Coulson jokes. 

May rolls her eyes. “I still can’t believe you made me watch that dumb movie.”

“It’s about secret agents. We’re secret agents!”

“Forget about the movie and think about what I said. FitzSimmons working for Hydra would have led to countless deaths. Maybe even the end of the world.”

Coulson considers this for a few moments. “They might have been able to escape Hydra before the torture and brainwashing.”

“They could have tried, but without the skills you gave them—“

“The skills we gave them,” Coulson says, reaching for her hand.

“They probably would have been killed years ago. You’re not responsible for their suffering, Phil. You’re responsible for them living long enough to realize they love each other...and to help save the world a few times.”

Coulson smiles. “Maybe you’re right.”

May smiles back at him. “Of course I’m right. FitzSimmons’s lives are better for knowing you. So is Daisy’s. So is mine.” She squeezes his hand. “We don’t know how much time you have left. Let’s not waste it on regrets.”

“Agreed. So...what should we waste time on?”

May leans in for a kiss.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”


End file.
